The following is a list of Esperanto-language films including features and documentaries.
Esperanto was created in the
late 1870s and early 1880s.
Feature films
There are four feature films known to have been shot exclusively in the
constructed language
A constructed language (sometimes called a conlang) is a language whose phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, instead of having developed naturally, are consciously devised for some purpose, which may include being devised for a work of fiction ...
Esperanto. Both ''
Angoroj'' (''Agonies'') and ''
Incubus
An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...
'' were shot in the 1960s, and both were long thought lost
until restorations emerged in the 2010s.
''Angoroj'' was produced in France in 1964 and directed by Atelier Mahé. It runs approximately one hour and its story involves murder. After a restoration and
home video
Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...
release (in the
PAL
Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
format) in
Switzerland, the film became unavailable until 2019. Little detailed information about ''Angoroj'' is available, except that the cast included some proficient Esperantists, including
Raymond Schwartz
Raymond Schwartz (8 April 1894 – 14 May 1973) was a French banker and Esperanto author who wrote many poems and novels in Esperanto, as well as skits which he directed for Parisian Esperanto cabarets.
Biography
Schwartz was born into a Frenc ...
, who also directed skits for
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
ian Esperanto
cabarets
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or ...
.
The second feature was the 1965 American production ''
Incubus
An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...
'', a low-budget black-and-white
horror film directed by the creator of the television series ''
The Outer Limits'' and starring
William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpris ...
. Though the film is admired for its stark artistry, many Esperantists find that the actors spoke with poor pronunciation.
The 2006 film ''
Gerda malaperis!'' (''Gerda Disappeared!'') and 2007 film ''La patro'' (''The Father'') were produced by the Brazilian Esperanto film production company Imagu-filmoj.
Documentaries
Earlier examples of Esperanto in film consist mainly of old
newsreel
A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, inform ...
and documentary footage, some dating back as early as 1911, when the seventh international Esperanto conference was held in
Antwerp,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. The funeral of Esperanto creator
L. L. Zamenhof
L. L. Zamenhof (15 December 185914 April 1917) was an ophthalmologist who lived for most of his life in Warsaw. He is best known as the creator of Esperanto, the most widely used constructed international auxiliary language.
Zamenhof first dev ...
in 1917 was filmed. French cinema
sync sound pioneer,
Léon Gaumont
Léon Ernest Gaumont (; 10 May 1864 – 10 August 1946) was a French inventor, engineer, and industrialist who was a pioneer of the motion picture industry. He founded the world’s first and oldest film studio Gaumont Film Company, and worked ...
, made a short film about a Procession of supporters of Esperanto. In 2011, Academy Award-nominated director
Sam Green (''
The Weather Underground
The Weather Underground was a Far-left politics, far-left militant organization first active in 1969, founded on the Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan. Originally known as the Weathermen, the group was organiz ...
''), released a new documentary in 2011 about Esperanto titled ''
The Universal Language
''The Universal Language'' is a short comedic play written by David Ives. The play is part of the collection of plays called ''All in the Timing.'' The show features two characters, Don and Dawn. Don is a con artist trying to swindle customers int ...
'' (La Universala Lingvo). This 30-minute film traces the history of Esperanto.
Films of Christopher Mihm
Starting with ''Attack of the Moon Zombies'', Christopher Mihm has dubbed eight of his self-described "new old good bad" films into Esperanto:
* ''
The Monster of Phantom Lake
''The Monster of Phantom Lake'' is an independent comedy released on March 9, 2006. It is a modern 1950s style, Cold War era, B-grade "drive-in" movie in the style of ''The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues'', '' Monster from the Ocean Floor'', or ''The ...
''
* ''Attack of the Moon Zombies''
* ''House of Ghosts''
* ''The Giant Spider''
* ''The Late Night Double Feature''
* ''Danny Johnson Saves The World''
* ''Demon with the Atomic Brain''
* ''Queen of Snakes''
Use of Esperanto in film and television
*1924: The silent film ''
The Last Laugh'', directed by
F.W. Murnau from a screenplay by
Carl Mayer, features street signs, posters, and shop signs written in pseudo-Esperanto.
[. It mentions the words ''Etali'' and ''Farina'' as examples of Esperanto signs. It references " itchcock's famous interview with François Truffaut.]
* 1931: The Esperanto novel ''
Mr. Tot Aĉetas Mil Okulojn'', written by
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
author
Jean Forge
Jan Fethke (26 February 1903 – 16 December 1980) was a German- Polish film director and, under the pen name Jean Forge, a successful author. He also was a famous proponent of the language Esperanto.
Life
Born in Oppeln, Silesia, Jan Fethke ...
and published in this year, was adapted by
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...
as ''
The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse
''The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse'' (German language, German ''Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse'') is a 1960 black-and-white crime film, crime thriller (genre), thriller film directed by Fritz Lang in his final film. A West German/French/Italian co-p ...
'' in 1960. (The film was in German, not Esperanto.) Forge also directed films of his own, at least two of which are known to have been Esperanto productions, ''Morgaŭ Ni Komencos la Vivon'' (1934) and ''Verda Stelo Super Varsovio'' (1959). It is unknown if either film survives.
*1939: ''
Idiot's Delight'', starring
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated ingénues. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'N ...
and
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
, features 'locals' of an unidentified European country speaking Esperanto. The language also appears in written form (e.g., a sign reading ''Autobuso'').
*1939: ''
Lady of the Tropics
''Lady of the Tropics'' is a 1939 American drama film directed by Jack Conway, starring Robert Taylor, Hedy Lamarr, and Joseph Schildkraut.
Plot
While visiting French Indochina with his girlfriend and her family on her father's yacht, freeload ...
'', starring
Robert Taylor and
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actress ...
, contains two Esperanto words, ''Estas bone'' ("It's all right"), said by a woman after Taylor apologizes to her for mistaking her for Lamarr.
*1940: ''
Road to Singapore
''Road to Singapore'' is a 1940 American semi- musical comedy film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour and Bob Hope. Based on a story by Harry Hervey, the film is about two playboys trying to forget previo ...
'', starring
Bing Crosby and
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...
, features a song with Esperanto lyrics sung by a chorus of natives of Kaigoon, a fictional island in the East Indies.
*1940: ''
The Great Dictator
''The Great Dictator'' is a 1940 American anti-war political satire black comedy film written, directed, produced, scored by, and starring British comedian Charlie Chaplin, following the tradition of many of his other films. Having been the o ...
'' starring
Charlie Chaplin, who also wrote and directed the film, deliberately decided to have the signs in the shop windows, of the ghettoized Jewish population, written in Esperanto, instead of German, in order to leave the comparison of Nazi Germany to the audience. Another meaning for its usage is
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's opinion that for the Jews to dominate the world, they will need a universal language such as Esperanto.
*1966: ''
Incubus
An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...
'' with
William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpris ...
. The first
gothic horror movie filmed entirely in Esperanto, directed by
Leslie Stevens
Leslie Clark Stevens IV (February 3, 1924 – April 24, 1998) was an American producer, writer, and director. He created two television series for the ABC network, '' The Outer Limits'' (1963–1965) and '' Stoney Burke'' (1962–63), and ''Se ...
.
*1976: ''
La ciutat cremada
''La ciutat cremada'' (''The Burned City''; Spanish title: ''La ciudad quemada'') is a 1976 Spanish historical film directed by Antoni Ribas.http://spanish_cinema.enacademic.com/46/Catalan_cinema
Cast
Plot
The story takes place in Barcelona f ...
'' (''The Burnt City'')
*1980s: The British science fiction comedy ''
Red Dwarf'' (which began in 1988) is set on a bilingual spaceship where the signs on the walls are written in both English and Esperanto (for example, the corridor on each level is labelled "Level/Nivelo
##, and a sign in a movie theatre says "Cinema/Kinejo") – but this only lasted for the first two series; afterward a redesign of the sets eliminated the Esperanto. Only one episode (Series 2 episode 1, "
Kryten
Kryten is a fictional character in the British science fiction situation comedy ''Red Dwarf''. The name ''Kryten'' is a reference to the head butler in the J.M. Barrie play ''The Admirable Crichton''. Originally referred to as a Series III mech ...
") actually features a significant amount of Esperanto being spoken: in the opening scene, the character of Rimmer is attempting to learn Esperanto from an instructional video and failing miserably (although his underachieving bunkmate Lister can understand it perfectly). In a later episode (Series 5 episode 6, "
Back to Reality"), aired in 1992, the crew encounter an "
ocean seeding ship" named the ''SSS Esperanto''. Later, when their entire lives are revealed, falsely, to have all been a computer game, the Esperanto translation of Esperanto as "One Who Hopes" is said to have been a clue to use that ship's functioning lasers to defeat the "Despair Squid".
*1985: ''
Night on the Galactic Railroad
, sometimes translated as ''Milky Way Railroad'', ''Night Train to the Stars'' or ''Fantasy Railroad in the Stars'', is a classic Japanese fantasy novel by Kenji Miyazawa written around 1927. The nine-chapter novel was posthumously published in 1 ...
'', a Japanese
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
film (based on the novel by
Kenji Miyazawa
was a Japanese novelist and poet of children's literature from Hanamaki, Iwate, in the late Taishō and early Shōwa periods. He was also known as an agricultural science teacher, a vegetarian, cellist, devout Buddhist, and utopian social act ...
), all the signs are written in Esperanto, to reflect the distinct but unspecific European ambiance of the town and also as a tribute to Miyazawa's interest in the language.
*1987: In the film ''
Već viđeno'' (''Déjà Vu''), by
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
n director
Goran Marković
Goran Marković ( sr-cyr, Горан Марковић, ) (born 24 August 1946) is a Serbian film and theatre director, screenwriter, writer, and playwright. He has directed approximately 50 documentaries, 13 feature films, and 3 theatre plays. ...
, one of the main character's colleagues is an Esperanto teacher. A few short scenes take place in the Esperanto class. Later the teacher is heckled when he recites from an Esperanto translation of ''
The Mountain Wreath
''The Mountain Wreath'' ( sr, Горски вијенац / Gorski vijenac) is a poem and a play written by Prince-Bishop and poet Petar II Petrović-Njegoš.
Njegoš wrote ''The Mountain Wreath'' during 1846 in Cetinje and published it the fol ...
'' at a school performance.
*1994:
''Street Fighter'' street signs and labels are in Esperanto; also background speech and even the anthem of Shadaloo, sung in the movie, are in Esperanto.
*1997: Esperanto also makes an appearance in
Andrew Niccol
Andrew Niccol (born 10 June 1964) is a New Zealand screenwriter, producer, and director. He wrote and directed '' Gattaca'' (1997), ''Simone'' (2002), ''Lord of War'' (2005), ''In Time'' (2011), '' The Host'' (2013), and ''Good Kill'' (2014). H ...
's science fiction drama ''
Gattaca
''Gattaca'' is a 1997 American dystopian science fiction thriller film written and directed by Andrew Niccol in his filmmaking debut. It stars Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman with Jude Law, Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal, and Alan Arkin ap ...
'', where announcements are read in Esperanto and English.
*2002: ''Que Sera, Sera'', a Norwegian short film directed and produced by Geir Greni, tells the story of the new president of a fictionalized version of the country's Esperanto association and his attempts to drum up new members for the organization on the eve of its annual convention. Part of the spoken dialogue is in Esperanto.
*2004: The movie ''
Blade: Trinity'' takes place in a generic city which writer/director
David Goyer
David Samuel Goyer (born December 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including '' Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (1998), the ''Blade'' ...
nevertheless wanted to represent as bilingual (as many cities are worldwide), so the second language spoken in this nameless city, and visible on most of its signage, is Esperanto.
*2004: In the Spanish film ''El coche de pedales'', one of the main characters is a teacher of Esperanto. There are some scenes in which he greets people with "Saluton" or "Dankon", and a scene of one of his lectures, in which he reads a tale in Esperanto.
*2004: In the Korean amateur animation named ''Esperanto'' directed by Zacho Oh – which received a prize in the Digital Content Grand Prix – the final sentence that can be heard in the film is in Esperanto.
*2004: On the
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
animated show ''
Danny Phantom'' a limited run character named Wulf was featured who spoke exclusively in Esperanto.
*2005: A short film named ''Esperanto'' was released, with scenes in French and Esperanto.
*2005: ''
Casarosa'' is a film by the First Channel of Russian television. The three-part film is a detective story, based on the novel by
Leonid Yuzefovich, about events taking place in an Esperanto club in the 1920s. In some scenes people speak and sing in Esperanto, or discuss it in Russian.
*2009: A short film ''Senmova'' in Esperanto directed by Tugce Sen.
*2010: In the movie ''
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse'' a mix of Esperanto and gibberish is used as the
Kryptonian language.
*2011: The short animated film ''Ĉapeloj'' contains no spoken dialogue, and instead employs the use of visual gags that are based on puns found in Esperanto. Animated and produced by Simmon Keith Barney.
*2012: The Japanese animated film ''
Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles—Animal Adventure'' of the
Doraemon
''Doraemon'' ( ja, ドラえもん ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was first serialized in December 1969, with its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 ''tankōbon'' volumes and ...
series has several characters speaking Esperanto until Doraemon produces a translating device.
*2013: In the Japanese anime film ''
Patema Inverted
is a 2013 Japanese animated science fiction film written and directed by Yasuhiro Yoshiura. It was released in Japan on November 9, 2013. A four-episode original net animation (ONA) series, ''Patema Inverted: Beginning of the Day'', streamed in ...
'', the ending theme, ''Patema Inverse'', is sung in Esperanto.
*2014: In 12th episode ("
Diggs") in season 25 of ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'',
Principal Skinner
Principal Seymour Skinner (born Armin Tamzarian) is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, an ...
says a few phrases in Esperanto.
*2016: In the movie ''
Captain Fantastic'' the two daughters speak fluent Esperanto during the bus ride to the city.
*2017: In a season 15 episode of ''
Red vs. Blue'', it is revealed Simmons learned Esperanto in an effort to communicate with Lopez, who only speaks Spanish. Several of Simmons's lines in the episode are in Esperanto.
*2020: In the movie ''
Rose Island'', it is decided to use Esperanto as the official language of the Republic when looking for a language to sustain the international recognition of the would-be microstate.
See also
*
Esperanto in popular culture
References
External links
Films in Esperanto*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esperanto-language films
Lists of films by language
Films
Constructed-language media